Green Fleet

Despite the mayor of London’s plan to have 100,000 electric vehicles (EVs) on the road “as soon as possible,” served by 25,000 charging points, the city’s environment committee reported that London has about 2,313 EVs registered in the city so far. The committee suggested that London may need to look to an EV car-sharing program like that of Paris’ Autolib fleet that launched in December 2011.

The currently reported EV registration count, which is about 0.08% of all vehicle registrations in the city, “is way off the Mayor’s original target of 100,000, and at the current rate could take centuries to reach,” said Murad Qureshi, the environment committee chair, in the February report. Qureshi cited issues like “range anxiety” and not enough charging points for drivers to feel confident in purchasing a 100% EV.

“In the past, we’ve followed Paris with their Velib bike hire scheme with our very own version,” Qureshi said. “We may do well to follow their lead again but this time with a version of their EV car hire scheme for London. I believe we should all be watching the progress of the Autolib in Paris with great interest.”

According to the report, London’s mayor is committed to establishing 1,300 charging points by 2013, in which the city has about 400 currently. The report made other suggestions, such as publicizing the advantages of EVs and to publish a revised plan.

For the full report as a PDF from London’s environment committee, click here.

About 95% of Mazda vehicles sold in 2030 will be powered by some form of electrification, and the company will also revive its rotary engine for use as a range-extender for one of two planned battery-electric vehicles, according to the automaker.